Wilhelm Pieck

Wilhelm Pieck (3 January 1876-7 September 1960) was President of East Germany from 11 October 1949 to 7 September 1960, preceding Walter Ulbricht; he was the only president of the country, and he lacked political power after Ulbricht became the new chairman of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany in 1950.

Biography
Wilhelm Pieck was born on 3 January 1876 in Guben, Brandenburg, German Empire (present-day Gubin, Poland), and he worked as a carpenter during his youth. In 1894, he joined the woodworkers' federation, and he joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany in 1895. In 1906, he became full-time secretary of the SPD, and he became the party secretary in Bremen in 1916. Pieck opposed World War I, leading to him being imprisoned during the war. In 1918, he joined the Communist Party of Germany, and he barely escaped an attack by the Freikorps that left Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht dead. In 1933, he went into exile in France and then in the Soviet Union, fleeing Nazi Germany as the fascist Nazi Party took over. He served as Secretary of Comintern from 1935 to 1943, and he returned to Germany in 1945 when World War II ended. Pieck became the leader of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and the de jure head of state of East Germany, but Walter Ulbricht took over the SED in 1950. Pieck died in Pankow, East Berlin in 1960.